Liquid-vending machine



' L... T. LEET LIQUID VENDING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR LYNNILEET Dec. 18, 1928.

1.,1'. LEET LIQUID VENDING lucrmm Filed April 29, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 "M m a I I Nk HTH FIG. 3

FlGnB INVICNTOR LYNN- 7-' LEE 7' A T TORJVTE IZ;

Dec. l8, 1928.

, L. T. LEET LIQUID VENDING MACHINE 5 shuts-sheet Filed April 29, 1926 INVENTOR LYNNJTLEET M 6 1 ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1928. 1,695,735 L. T. LEET LIQUID VENDING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I \YI l I 30 FIG 10 may INTZENTOR LYNIY-T-LEET F10 5 MA m .ATTORJVEYS m thane. 18,1928."

HUNITIED STATES PATENT OFF ICE.

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LIeum-vnnnme melanin.

Application filed April 29; 1826. Serial No. 105,518.

and before the liquid is measured or dis- I charged therefrom.

A further object is to provide a machine which will be unlocked by the insertion of a coin and all motions within the machine will be controlled by the movement of a single handle by the operator.

i' mined wei ht.

A further object is to provide means to prevent insertion of a coin into the machine once the supply of liquid receiving receptacles or cups has become exhausted. I

A further object is to provide means to receive the empty cups and to'hold same in stacked formation and to release said stack of cups when they havereached a predeter- A still urther within the machine which allow the op crating handle to be turned without moving the vending mechanism or damaging same should any person attempt to operate the machine before inserting his or'hercoin. i In my invention I provide a casing of substantially rectangular form with a horizontal I partitiondividing the easing into upper and ower compartments. The lower'compartment is adapted to receive empty cups in stacked form through chutes'forme'd in the sidesof theupper compartment. The upper compartment is divided into two separate chambers, the one at the rear being properly insulated and adapted to hold a quantity of liquid. A cover may-be provided for the rear chamber. The front chamber is adapted to receive the cup release controlling mechanism, the soup placing mechanism, and the coin controlled operating mechanism, which is also adapted to operate through suitable gearing a liquid agitating ,and means within the rear chamber. .Means are also provided by the movement of the cups to release a coin slot closing mediumwhen apredetermined number of the cups have been discharged from the upper chamber ofthe machine. a

measuring In the drawings which illustrate one form of my invention;

Figure 1 is a perspective view'of the machine showing the front chamber.

-Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine showing the liquid agitating and measuring-means, the position of the operating mechanism. therefor, and also the cup releasin andplacing mechanism.

Figure 3 is aside elevation of the device shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a front elevation ofthe coin controlled mechanism for operating all parts of the machine inunison.

a Figure 5 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a plan of the coin receiving, v

mechanism.

Figure 7 is a detailed plan of the cup placing mechanism.

Figure 81s a detailed plan of the cup releasing device 'and operating mechanism therefor.

Figure 9 is a front elevation of the cup releasing and cup placing mechanism.

Figure 10 is a front elevation of the agitating and measuring wheel. object is to provide means' Figure 11 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 9.

Referring morepartic-ularlyto'the drawings, 11 designates a casing of substantially rectangular cross section and of a height suit- The casing is divided into two compartments 12 and 13,. by the horizontally disposed partition 14. Formed in the front side walls 15 of the upper. compartment are a pair of apertures 16, which communicate with vertically disposed circular chutes 17 the lower end of which communicates with the lower able for easy operation of the mechanism contained therein and hereinafter described.

compartment 13: Spring fingers 18- may be attached to the lower end of said chutes to holdthe used cups placed through apertures 16, in stacked 'form within the chute until their weight forces the springs apart and allow the stack of cups to fall into thelower compartment. A suitable hinged door 19 may be provided for the lower compartment. The up er compartment is divided by a vertically 'sposed partition 20 into twocha-mbers 21 and 22. The chamber 21 at the rear,v Y

.is open at the top. and may be provided with double walls between whichinsulation23,

.such as cork' may be placedto protect the fluid from being afiected by changes in temperature of the vsurrounding atmosphere. The chamber 21 is provided with a removable cover 24 and between said cover. and the edge 25 a sealing or packingmediumma be placed to prevent any forei n matter" om entering the said chamber. xtending from back to front of the-chamber 21-is a spindle 26 to which is secured the agitating whee127 which also carries rotatably mounted on a projection 28, a measuring bucket 29. The wheel 27 carries a series of projecting-paddles 30 which agitate the fluidiin the" chamber 21 so that the fruit pulp will be thoroughly mixed. The edge of the agitatingwheel is provided with a plurality of teeth 31, gear-- 'ing with a toothed pinion 32secured to a shaft 33 which is driven by, means hereinafterdescribed. Secured tot-hemeasuring bucket is the pinion 34 which engages with a curved rack 35 secured by 'any' suitable means to the' sides of the chamberand near the top thereof. The bucket is revolved and discharges the fluid contained therein'into a trough 36, having an outlet pipe 37 passing Q through the side of the chamber 21 in close proximity to the cup delivery mechanism designated as .a whole by the numeral 38. A liquid trap 39 may be provided in the pipe 37 to prevent escape of the cold 'air within the chamber. The liquid within .the tank,is kept cold by means ofa blockof dry refrigerant supported on a bracket 40 secured to the walls and within the chamber 21. The cover for the chamber is drawn down-on to the top of the frame bymeans of the pivotally mounted levers 41, the lower ends of which are provided with slots 42.passing. over the eye bolts 43 secured to the outer-wall of the casing and throu h which suitable. locking means such as pa locks, not shown,

I may be placed to lock the levers in position.

.47 which may extend beyond the top of the casing. Positioned at the lowermost edge of the reservoir-47 is the cup delivery controlling mechanism' 48. which consists of mech- 'anism, not shown in detail, butso. operated by the horizontal movement of the lever 49 that only one-cup is delivered from one complete cycle of. movements of the lever,- that is one forward and one backward movement. The detail of this mechanism is not shown as itis well known in the vending art and any of the well known ty es of cup delivery mechanism may be emp oyed. Positioned to one side 5 0 of the chamber, 22 and secured to the front wall thereof is the coin tont'rolled mechanism designated as'a whole by the letter C in Figurel and shown in detail in Figures 4, 5 and 6. The coin controlled mechanism is mounted on the spindle 51 and consists of a pair of spaced discs 52, the edges 'of which are each provided with one tooth- 53. The discs are loosely mounted on the spindle 51 and secured to the spindle between the discs is the coin receiving element 54 which is adapted to receive a coin 55 in the recess formed therein and hold said coin until it contacts witha pin 56 secured to a pawl 56 engagingwith the teeth 53 and ro tatably suspended from a pin 57 secured to the cheek plates 58. The coin is held in.

such a position that its edge will engage with pin 56 andr'aise. the pawl clear of the teeth and allow the discs and spindle to be revolved T inthe direction indicated by arrow XI As will be seen this movement of unlocking the 1 pawl necessitates a certain amount of free movement between the pawl and said discs and this may be accomplished in the manner shown. The key 63 holding the element 54 to the shaft is somewhatsmaller than the recess 59 formed in the wallof the'bore of the discs, so that the element will haveto move througha predetermined angle before movement of the discs is made. To prevent movement in the opposite direction to the arrow X a ratchet toothed wheel 60-is provided and secured to one of the discs. Theteeth of the ratchet en age-with the'end 61 of a rotatably suspen ed pawl 62 and tension spring 63 may be placed between the pawl 62 and the pawl 56 to hold them in engagement I with their respective teeth. A coin chute 63 is provided to guide the coin so that it will fall between the discs and to the coin receiving element. A circular opening 64 is formed in the wall of the casing and the frame 64f to allow the coin to be deposited in ceiving pawl are positioned between the frame 64 and the bracket 65 secured thereto. The spindle 51' extends beyond the bracket 65xand maybe supported on the plate 66 formingpart of the frame. Secured to the spindle 51 and in proximity. to the plate 66 is the toothed wheel'67, the teeth of which engage with the teeth of pinion'68 secured to the control shaft 69 rotatably mounted in the frame and passing through the face of the casing forming an extension 70 to which may be attached the operating .handle 71. The pinion 68 is positioned between a collar 72 secured to the shaft'69 and a friction washer 73 which is pressed against the adjacent side of the pinion by the nut 74 which may be locked in position by the lock nuts 75. The pinion it will be seen, is -so mounted that it may be revolved with' the shaft butshould the pressure exceed a pre-v determined amount or should the locking said chute. The discs, ratchet and coin repawls bein the locking position, the handle may be revolved without turning the pinion. Rotatably mounted on the spindle 51 between the bracket 65 and the toothed wheel 67 is the sleeve 76, to the one end of which is attached a tooth wheel 7 8, which is adapted to rotate the shaft 33 through the medium of the toothed pinion 79. The end of the shaft 33 to the agitating and measuring means. This s is accomplished by placing or forming a prosupports 94 spaced at their free en jection 82 on the wheel 67 and a projection 83 on the wheel 78, and positioning them so that wheel 67 moves through 'a predetermined angle before the projections come in contact, after which both wheels move in unison. Two cams 84 and 85 are formed on or secured to the sleeve. One of the cams 84 engages with a lever 86 pivotally secured at one end 87 to a pin 88 secured to the frame.

Suspended from the other end is the rod-89' which may be secured to one arm 90 of a bell crank lever 92 the other arm, of which is slotted and secured to thelever 49; A compression spring 91 may be mounted between the end of the rod 89 and the end 87 a of the lever 86. The rotating movement of the cam is such that it will raise the lever 86 which pulls the rod 89 upwardly, moving-the bell crank lever 92 about its pivot 94, said lever in turn operating the lever 49 to release one cup from the cup reservoir. The released cup falls into a receiving arm 93 which comprises a pair of curved springclips or s to allow the cup .to be withdrawn therefrom. The

cup used is tapered from top tobottom so that it will pass freely between the supports with its upper edge resting on the upper edge of the supports. The arm is pivotally mountedon a pin 95 and is rovidedlwith a portion 96 extending beyon the pivot and to which islattach'ed a connecting rod 97, the

other end of which is attached to one end 98' T of a bell crank lever 99 pivotally mounted on v a pin 100 securing it to the casing of the machine. The other end 101 of the lever 99' is secured toa rod 102 the free end 103 of which passes through an aperture 104 formed in the free end of a lever 105, pivotally secured atone end' to the pin 106 passing.

through the frame of the 'operatin mechanism. This lever 105 is moved a out its pivot by the movement of the cam 85 formed on or secured to the sleeve 76. T A, compression spring 106' is placed between the nut 107 and the uppermost. surface of the lever 105- and surrounding the rod 102. To keep the 'cup support beneath the cup reservoir outlet a tension spring is secured to a point in proximity to the end 101 of the lever 99, .and to a pin 108 fixed to the casing of the machine. The spring draws the lever 99 against a stop 109 to limit the movement of the cup receiving arm. To revent insertion The projection 112 passes through a slot 114 cut inthe wall of the cylinder or cup reservoirand is prevented from movement by the lips of the cups.

The bell crank lever 113 is attached to one end 113 of another bell crank 115 pivotallymounted on a pin 115*.passing through a bracket 116 secured to the operating gear frame. The disc 111 is pivotally suspended from the other end 117 of the lever 115 and is so positioned that it falls through a slot 118 in the top, of the coin chute and covers the coin inlet. A numbering device 120 is secured to the frame and is operated by a slotted link 119 suspended from one of the levers for operating the cup releasing gear. The slotted link is secured-to said lever and is adapted to move the operating pin of the numberingdevice ever time a cup isreleased from its reservoir. The cup'receiving support is mounted within a casing ,121 the lower'end of which may be tapered towards an outlet or drainage opening 122 which communicates with the interior of the lower; compartment. A drain valve 123 of the lift type may be provided at the bottom o'f the liquid reservoir to allow the liquid to be drained therefrom into the lower compartment when so desired. The valve seat 124 of the drain valve 123 is preferably placed or formed in the bottom of the liquid reservoir.

' Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The 0 eration of the device is as follows. A coin is dropped into-the machine and it drops through the chuteon to the coin receiving pawl between the locking discs, The handle-is then revolved and moves the shaft to which the coin receiving pawl is attached.

the shaft to be revolved through 360, the

handle in the present illustration being roduction between the handle shaft and the coin reeeivin pawl shaft is in theratio of 3 to 1. he ratchet and engaging pawl prevents return of the'handle or movement of same in the opposite directionto that shown The coinraises the locking pawl and all we to the coin receiving pawl shaft moves on said shaft.

through a predetermined distance before it contacts with the wheel secured to the sleeve tates the agitating wheel in the liquid reservoir, which also carries a bucket which fills with liquid and when the tooth pinion attached to said bucket comes in contact with the rack in the reservoir it tips' the bucket, the contents of which are discharged into the trough which leads to an outlet in the side of the liquid reservoir in close proximity to the cup reservoir. While the sleeve is rotating the cams therein first release a cup from i the reservoir to fall on to the cup holder which is swung about its pivot so that the r"e leased cup is placed beneath the outlet to receive the liquid. A bell 125 supported on the frame may be rung by means of a spring hammer 126 which may be operated by a projection,127 secured to the sleeve so that the operator will be warnedthatthe cup is filled and may be withdrawn from .the machine through the door provided for that purpose. When the stack of cups becomes exhausted, the coin slot is closed by. adisc. The used cups may be placed in the slots at the side of the casing and are supported in stacked formation at the bottom of the empty cup chute until they weigh a certain amount which overcomes'the resistance of the spring and allows the stack ofempty cups to fall into the compartment at the bottom of the casing. The Coin falls into a receptacle 129 when released from engagement with the coin receiving pawl and the disc pawl. A' chute 130 may be provided to'guide the coin towards said receptacle 129.- It will be seen that the device is very simple to operate and provides a n The wheel on the sleeve rochine and when emptied maybe placed withliquid vending machine which keeps the A liquid cool and the pulp within the liquidproperly mixed therew1th.' The liquid is measured and delivered intoa cupor recep tacle which may be withdrawn from'themaera-ting mechanism cannot be injured by malicious or mischievouspersons;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a liquid vending machine,'a sealed liquid reservoir, an agitating wheel ro-tatably mounted in said 'reservoir,paddles extending from the side of the wheel, a measuring bucket rotatably mounted on the side of the wheel, a toothed pinion secured to the bucket, a rack -secure% to the interior of the reservoir and adap ed to contact with the toothed pinion to rotate the bucket through one complete revolution and means to rotate said agitating wheel.

2. A liquid vending machine comprising a liquid reservoir, a vertically disposed wheel rotatably mountedin' said reservoir, liquid agitating paddles projecting laterally from said wheel, a nieasurin LYNN 'r. LEET.

bucket rotatablymounted on one side of said wheel, and means 

